encorporating greens into diet

[Spikeleebd]

my beardie is 11 months and isn't still touching his greens every now and then he will take a nip at them and pick out the yellow bell peppers and eat a little of the turnip greens but he really pays them no mind should i take him off of his feeders for a few days to try and get him to pay more attention to his greens

 

[Germ]

I would say yes, sometimes 'Tough Love' is necessary. He is nearing the age that he should be slowing on the live prey anyway.

 

[Spikeleebd]

ok how many days should i do this and should i do it in sessions like live him with just his greens for a few days then feed him live prey then live him with his greens for a couple more days

 

[Germ]

I would initially leave it a week without prey, to see if it will take to it's greens. There are the odd Dragons that just don't ever take well to their greens. If it doesn't take to the greens after a week, then I would only feed prey every other day & continue to provide Greens daily.

 

[Pat B]

Thank you Spikeleebd and Germ....I have the same issue with my beardie. He is 7 months and could care less about his greens. Every single day I put fresh greens in his tank and he NEVER eats them!! Today....I finally fed him crix at 4 pm. He had greens since this morning and of course he gobbled up the crix. When my crix are gone that I just bought I will do as Germ suggests. My beardie's problem is he wants to be the Alpha!!

 

[bouncer36]

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk sorry jessie decided he wanted to put his two cents he doesn't eat his greens either i think i will do the same and see how it goes jessie is sitting on the keyboard

 

[Germ]

Thank you Spikeleebd and Germ....I have the same issue with my beardie. He is 7 months and could care less about his greens. Every single day I put fresh greens in his tank and he NEVER eats them!! Today....I finally fed him crix at 4 pm. He had greens since this morning and of course he gobbled up the crix. When my crix are gone that I just bought I will do as Germ suggests. My beardie's problem is he wants to be the Alpha!!

You have to remember that Spikeleebd's BD is just about a year old, so the every other day prey feeding afterwards, would not apply to your's Pat. Go back to everyday.

 

[Pat B]

You have to remember that Spikeleebd's BD is just about a year old, so the every other day prey feeding afterwards, would not apply to your's Pat. Go back to everyday.

OK....I will wait until the little booger is a year.....

 

[Germ]

You could still try once to hold back the live prey for a 5-7 days & see if he will then take to his greens. But that is entirely up to you.

 

[Pat B]

You could still try once to hold back the live prey for a 5-7 days & see if he will then take to his greens. But that is entirely up to you.

ok....I will try for a few days after he gets the crix I just bought today....

 

[Spikeleebd]

Pat i wouldn't worry if he doesn't eat his greens because at that age they should be gettin greens from the prey they eat thats y they say gutload before feeding the 20% that banies and juvies need they should get from gutloaded prey

 

[Pat B]

This is the second day he has eaten green beans!! So very impressed with him....

 

[Spikeleebd]

i have 2 tubs of dubia roachs one for my breeding colony and the other my feeder colony i feed them a mix of turnip,collard greens and other veggies and lots of oranges , protein mix ,and water crystals

 

[Germ]

That is all well & good, but Gut loading the feeders & Feeding the BDs their greens, particularly for adults, are 2 different things.

 

[Pat B]

Could you explain 'two different things'. I am thrilled that Spike is finally eating some fruit, vegetables and greens as he has shown no interest whatsoever since I have had him. I feed him prey only once a day now. Greens in the morning and prey in the afternoon. He is but 7 months....Is this too early? Thanks.

 

[Germ]

The purpose of gutloading the feeders is to increase protein, vitamins, moisture & other nutrients to benefit the BD. While Greens do provide some nutrients & vitamins, they do not consist of a lot, because they are mostly water. It is never too early to start feeding greens, which is why they they be made available to it , whether they eat them or not, so they are there when it chooses to test them out. A younger, smaller BD, needs more protein, in the form of properly gutloaded live prey, than greens in it's diet, in order to grow, but still should have greens for hydration & what other benefits they can provide. If they are not eating greens, mistings & warm soaks are required more frequently to provide adequate hydration & a Multi-Vitamin such as Herptivite or Reptivite should be used a bit more often. A near or adult BD is generally not as active & is not growing as much anymore, so does not require as much Protein, but still requires hydration. This is why Adults only require live prey 2-3 days a week, but still need a constant daily supply of greens. Using Greens as part of the feeder gutload, while it is not a bad idea, does not replace the need for daily greens for adults, or juveniles either, once they take to them.

Feeding Green Beans to try to get your BD to start eating greens was a good choice. They are what I use when my BDs periodically go off or lose interest in their greens, for some reason Green Beans will quite often seem to respark a BD's interest in greens. Then go ween back into a better staple greens diet.

 

[BeardieBaby]

Well this is what I have been told about the difference between gutloading crickets and feeding them greens separately is that if your beardie doesn't ever eat greens and only eats gutloaded crickets he or she will become overweight. Don't know if that is true or not but that's what another Beardie enthusiast told me. Anyways, I can't get my beardie to eat any greens either, but I have started to put the greens in his cage everyday like you all have said just to get him used to it. I used to have it in one of those rock bowls you buy at petsmart so instead I cleaned the top of a jelly container which is flatter and put it on there so that maybe it would be easier for Baby to see and smell the greens, and maybe make him more tempted to go look at it and explore. I'm hoping he will start eating them soon because I honestly don't want to have to take away the crickets and just leave the greens because I am afraid if he really doesn't want to eat them he won't and he will starve. Some people tell me that if they get hungry enough they will eat it but I have left greens in his cage ONLY twice when I knew he was hungry and he still didn't eat them! So, I am not sure what else I can be doing at this point but just leaving them in his cage to get used to them. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Germ]

Well this is what I have been told about the difference between gutloading crickets and feeding them greens separately is that if your beardie doesn't ever eat greens and only eats gutloaded crickets he or she will become overweight.

That would possibly be true of an adult that won't eat greens & fed their fill of Prey daily. Young growing BDs need the protein to grow.

 

[BeardieBaby]

Okay, so do you suggest that I still feed the baby crickets twice a day or do you suggest I feed him once a day with crickets and then put greens in his tank? Or at this point should I just not worry about the greens so much right now?

 

[Germ]

General feeding/supplementation schedule:
For hatchlings and young juveniles (up to 2 months): Fresh greens/veg. 1-2 times daily - Live prey 2-3 times per day
Dusted: Five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – one day per week calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For juveniles and sub-adults (2 months to sexual maturity): Fresh greens/veg 1-2 times daily - Live prey 1-2 times per day
Dusted: Five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – One day per week with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For adults (generally 1+ year): Fresh greens/veg 1- 2 times daily - Live prey every 2-3 days.
Dusted: Every other feeding with phosphorus free calcium - Twice per month with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

As there are different circumstances that may arise, this schedule is recommended only as a general guide and may be altered to accommodate individual situations. Using a tracking method of when you dust prevents unnecessary use of product and more importantly, potential harm to your dragon! With proper and effective UVB lighting, supplementation with vitamin D3 is not imperative but should be provided in small amounts. Excessive levels of oral vitamin D3 can potentially lead to the excessive absorption and utilization of calcium and/or toxicity as can the excessive use of supplements containing high levels of vitamin A. Over use of any supplement can have the potential to cause serious health problems, stick to an appropriate supplementation schedule.

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Read more: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/basic-bd-care-sheet-a-place-to-start.5177/#ixzz221o6XGf6​

You should always provide greens whether they eat them or not, so they are there when they take the notion to check them out.

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